Thursday, July 20, 2017

Birthdays are Momentous Occasions

When considered, that special day is actually the first day of the
following year...

because the given date celebrates the days lived and enjoyed
previously.

Definition
of Birth: The act of coming into life; the backround or lineage.

Isn't
it great that “Canada
150”
is a recognized and advertised celebration for the entire year in
which we live: 2017...365 days! Canada offers us much...and
pondering this, I ask,

“What
Can We Offer as a Gift to honour our homeland's Birthday”?

Glen
Peloso, who offers suggestions, wrote:
As our country marks a milestone 150th, consider these five uniquely Canadian home accessories that are
enjoyed

and often emulated, around the world.

Group
of Seven:
Renowned around the world, artworks by masters of Canada's Group of
Seven are iconic in their depiction of our country. Most of us,
though, could never afford originals. Lawren Harris's Mountain
Forms from
the McMichael Canadian Art Collection soldfor
a record $11.6 million in November 2016. Instead, celebrate 'Canada
150' by adding a good reproduction to your home...or as a gift to
family and/or friends. I love the icy details of Harris's Mt.
Lefroy. Reproductions
of the painting run from $5 up to $200 in McMichael' s online gift
shop. As well, the gallery, in Kleinburg, celebrates Canada with a
festival.

Moose:
A well-recognized creature of the Canadian fabric...from highway
crossing signs and commemorative coins...to a notable and well-loved
beer company. Home decor has gravitated toward reproductions of
mounted animal heads, so consider a moose mug to mark our 150th.
These various and artistic styles of heads suit a range of room
decor, from a mere sophisticated look, often done in ceramic, metal
and origami; to kid's rooms with stuffed animals designed to hang
on the wall. This kid's collection from HomeSense is playful and
gives parents a wonderful opportunity to discuss Canada's heritage.

Muskoka
Chairs:
Why not sit back and enjoy Canada Day in the comfort of a Muskoka
chair? The wide arms are almost a side table, offering a two-in-one
value. The chairs were originally designed in 1903 by Thomas Lee and
became a staple at Muskoka lakes' cottages; eventually, all of the
rest of the country caught on. Synonomous with Canada, the enduring
design is now available in cedar, plastic, pine and metal...and is
made by a range of manufacturers...but the one most common to the
Muskoka lakes is still made by the same company: Muskoka Chair
Company.

HBC
'Point' Blanket:
Recognized around the world, its iconic green,
red, yellow and indigo stripes have
come to a testament of Canada's shared heritage. These blankets are
created in the traditional European weaver's 'point'
style...with short
black lines above
the bottom set of stripes that tell how big the blanket is while
still folded. Originally commissioned by the Hudson's Bay Company in
1810, the blankets are 100 per cent wool and (ironically) still made
in England...this year's blankets bear a special crest. This is the
kind of blanket you pass from generation to generation.

Neighbourhoods
alight:
The Vancouver Candle Co. celebrates Vancouver and Toronto with
candles named after communities in these cities. Made of a soy-wax
blend, each has its own scent and comes in two sizes...one that burns
for 30 hours and another that lasts 60 hours. These make great “Happy
Birthday, Canada!” gifts to take to a Canada Day party in a
neighbourhood that was used as the namesake for the candle. If your
budget isn't up to a chair or a blanket, this is a great choice. The
glass container can be kept as a souvenir of the celebration.

(Glen Peloso is a principal designer of Peloso Alexander Interiors,

national design editor of Canadian Home Trends magazine

and
a design expert on the Marilyn
Denis Show on CTV.)

Appreciative
Gifts

Tokens
of Thanks:When
my daughter was equestrian riding, she along with other teens from
her stable, travelled to 'out of Canada Horse Shows'. Our riders
were billeted by families in the 'show area'. Always we sent a gift
for the 'host family'. “Canadiana” was the theme of any gifts I
sent with her...and the most loved by a family in Caracas, was a set
of small totem poles, artfully crafted and painted.

When
visiting American friends over a period of a few years, I'd take
bottles of Niagara wine, a hand -crafted Canadian pillow, an Afghan
I'd crocheted...all greatly enjoyed. The senior of the family told me
of his love for Canada's maple trees. Upon next visit, I took a pair
of framed prints byThe Group of Seven. One of course was A.
Y. Jackson's 'The Red Maple' which he painted of a young maple
growing beside the Ox Tonque river rapids in Algonquin Park; the
other was The
White Pine painted (in
northern Ontario I believe)
by A. J. Casson. (Naturally
these were not 'numbered prints' but bought in a small gift shop in
Oakville). Nevertheless, these became beloved art pictures of
CANADA!

The
Tree in a Land of Forests

(excerpts from an article by Jim Polin, published in The Hamilton
Spectator)

Ah,
“The
West Wind.” Out
of seemingly solid granite, a pine tree defiantly emerges, giving
rise to a painter and, along the way, adding definition to a country.
“The
West Wind”
is said to be among Tom Thomson's final canvases and considered among
his greatest works...a painting that defined an artist and arguably
the spirit of the country.

One hundred years ago today, Thomson disappeared...

his body surfaced on Canoe Lake eight days later on July 16.

His death in Ontario's Algonquin Park remains a mystery.

Did he tip his canoe and accidentally drown? Was he involved in a
quarrel and murdered after being struck on the head with a
paddle...the lake and his canoe used merely as cover-up props?

Tom Thomson, at age 39 was part of an emerging art movement

that gave rise to the Group of Seven.

Even 100 years later, a person can hike, drive or paddle to spots in
Ontario to see what Thomson saw. You can portage to spots in
Algonquin Park...walk the Oxtongue River or wade the shorelines of
Canoe Lake where his pigment and passion came together. Thomson's
anniversary allows us to pause for an artist who was timeless. He
lived close to the ground...and felt the rain and the wind...and saw
beauty in dead branches. The early critics were wrong about him and
his fledgling artist friends.

Thomson
left us much, including The
West Wind,”

the tree in the forest ...a sweeping tree in a land known for its
forests.